Rain, Trains & Camping In A Field

Dark clouds stalk the skyline. As a black halo forms atop of the hills of Wales the wind effortlessly draws the weather close. All I have is a tent, a thin piece of fabric erected by fibre glass poles and nailed to the floor by pegs that puncture the Earth. I sit and wait for the rain, the rhythmic pitter-patter that will soundtrack this camping trip.

Little do I know this shower would last 20 hours and not only effect the camping trip, but my journey home.

TJ and I had made our way to Graig Wen Campsite near the village of Dolgellau in North Wales. On our third and final morning I awoke to the familiar sound of rain drops upon my tent roof. It was 7.30am and it had been raining constantly since 10am the morning previous.

By this time I had had enough, my shoes, socks, hat and bag were all wet from the previous days walk into the nearby coastal village of Barmouth. It was June, but I was cold, cold, wet and hungry. Due to the damp weather conditions we were unable to light a fire and cook the food we had each brought for the trip.

It was time.

Time to pack away and travel home, to get back to civilisation and once again be dry and comfortable.

Unplug, deflate, fold, roll and stuff into sacks, packing was a whole lot easier when I had more space to move, when I could stand up and extend my arms and legs. The tent was the perfect shelter, it kept the elements at bay and the insects out, but the lack of space made it difficult to pack.

With all my possessions in my rucksack it was time to brave the weather. To exit the tent and dismantle my sanctuary from the elements. TJ had started this process before me, he had now finished and was waiting outside.

“You finished already? You should have told me I’d have started earlier.” I called

Then TJ uttered the words I will never forget. “Don’t worry, it’s stopped raining.”

My prayers had been answered. Finally the rain had stopped. It had been raining for 20 hours without a break and at a click of a finger the rain had suddenly stopped, right on queue for TJ and I to make the dry escape.

We boarded our bus at Dolgellau to make our way back to the train station. As we passed through a series of small towns and villages, many of which are unpronounceable, I couldn’t help but imagine that the person in charge of lettering the signposts had in fact had a stroke and collapsed onto the keyboard. TJ nudged my elbow and showed me his phone with a glum look on his face. “The trains have all been cancelled back to Chester, what we gonna do?”

We sat in silence for a moment, I knew that the improved weather was too good to be true. I knew that getting home wasn’t going to be plain sailing. TJ upon frantic googling suggested that we keep on the bus to Wrexham station and from there hop on the bus to Chester, where trains were either delayed or replacement coaches were being allocated for routes back to our home towns.

We added a couple of hours to our journey home. We were tired, cold, wet and hungry. But, I’d do it all again in a heartbeat, it was a wonderful trip that I thoroughly enjoyed and I hope that it all comes across in the YouTube film.

You can watch the YouTube film at the Short Lane Studios YouTube channel or by clicking the video on this page. Don’t forget to subscribe, like and comment for much more content coming soon.

~ Adam

NOTE FROM TJ:- I really enjoyed this trip and enjoyed the edit of the video too. Even though the subtitles did take 18 hours >.<I hope you all enjoy the video, we’ll do more and keep getting better at filming and editing. We have two more projects in the planning stages, one a solo walk and the other a hike with the both of us. Thanks for visiting, reading and watching.